XMPie question

[LoganBlade]

I have been using the Data Merge for a lot of my variable files now. I can create a quick PDF nicely. I am in CS5.

[Dan Chak]

Ok, the issue was a conflict with Acrobat and XMPie. Apparently they don't play nice and IT had to remove a file somewhere.

The question I have now is where does XMPie pick up the PDF settings from? There isn't any place to choose what PDF profile to export to.

There isn't. I've been outputting to .ps and distilling pdf's for proofing forever.

If you'll look in your settings when you do a regular PDF export, you'll see there are two settings relating to XMPie -- XMPieQualityProof and XMPieQualityHigh. But you never have the option to choose between them, from what I've been able to tell. The uProduce server switches between them depending upon whether you're 'proofing' or 'processing' a job, but as a uDirect user with no server environment, I think you're stuck with distilling .ps files. If you find out any differently, please let me know!

Sorry for necroing this thread, but I thought I'd mention that my new version of XMPie allows me to use PDF settings that are set up in InDesign now. Still offers the XMPieQualityProof and XMPieQualityHigh, but I don't use those any more.
All I can say is that it is about time.

[Stiv]

Using 5.3 5312 here. I cannot output a PDF from XMPie. It fails because it won't embed the fonts.

I can't get anyone here to trouble-shoot the issue so I output PS and Distill.

These machines are so locked down I can't figure it out myself.

[t-pat]

Using 5.3 5312 here. I cannot output a PDF from XMPie. It fails because it won't embed the fonts.

I can't get anyone here to trouble-shoot the issue so I output PS and Distill.

These machines are so locked down I can't figure it out myself.

we gave up on xmpie's pdf output a long time ago, we do as you do, distill PS. We have a hotfolder set up for it so it isn't so bad but when getting into the 50K+ record files it gets a bit pokey - output and distill.

[Sabrina The Turd Polisher]

Anyone here got tips or how to's for variable images in XMPie?
Seems our home office are ____________...and it takes two weeks to get some real support.

[Stiv]

They are a bitch. I had to set up the image name in a column in the CSV file. Then assign the ADOR with XMPie. All images need to be in the same Assets folder.
I suggest using layers and master pages in INDD.
It wasn't fun and I'll never do it again.

[t-pat]

They are a bitch. I had to set up the image name in a column in the CSV file. Then assign the ADOR with XMPie. All images need to be in the same Assets folder.
I suggest using layers and master pages in INDD.
It wasn't fun and I'll never do it again.

We have a regular job that uses variable maps and logos for a crapload of car dealers. So many that xmpie complains that the amount of images exceeds something or other, but it still works. You have to do as above (assign image name in csv)
One thing to be really careful of is that xmpie seems to "forget" where the assets folder for the job is, and you should always set assets folder before output.

Another but more tedious way is to assign a layer for each image and use a Visibility content object, and assign layer visibility to each layer. I'm doing a job now that has different background artwork based on a location field, and the layer toggles on and off based on that field. There are only 16 different base arts on this so doing the layer visibility is not so cumbersome.

If you want an example - ask.

[youston]

Anyone here got tips or how to's for variable images in XMPie?
Seems our home office are ____________...and it takes two weeks to get some real support.

Variable images as in uImage, or variable images as in "this record gets a car, this one gets a boat, this one gets a unicorn"?

Both are fairly easy & straightforward. Never had the issue that t-pat described (XMPie forgetting where the assets folder is), but I don't know what his setup is, either. We had the XMPie server, uploaded the docs & data & assets to it and pulled the trigger.

If you're using uImage, though (unique images generated in photoshop), it's waaaayyyy more better to generate the images ahead of time and account for them in the data rather than to let XMPie generate them on the fly.

[t-pat]

not using xmpie server.
Running in whatever version runs in CS3, does not have any pdf output settings. Outputting to pdf can be bad too, we do .ps -> distiller. Sux.

[Stiv]

http://help.nowdocs.com/NowPrint/Personalized_Products/XMPie/Change_an_Object_Style.htm

http://help.nowdocs.com/NowPrint/Personalized_Products/XMPie/Change_Graphics_Dynamically.htm

This was helpful to me. They have a few other help pages also.



edit: added another link.